Automobile tent mounting



May 24, 1960 J. vAN TAssEL 2,937,651

AUTOMOBILE TENT MOUNTING Filed NOV. 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 24, 1960 J. VAN TAssEl. 2,937,651

AUTOMOBILE TENT MOUNTING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 42276: y 2@ fi?? Filed Nov. 19, 1957 y if @l/145s WN 172.9551.,

INVENTOR.

WW MW ite l States Patent 2,937,651 AUTOMOBILE TNTvMoUTniIf James Van Tassel, 2437 IIeli`otiopetDriver Santa Calif.

Fired Nov. 19, 1951,' ser. No. 697;'451' z claims. (cl. 13s-4) This invention relates to tents; andl moreparticuli'ly' relates to a mounting' or frame*foratentadaptedto'b transported on an automobile in knofckedidown cortli'ti'otlr and to be set up while still Aattached toth'veI automobile;

It is an object ofthis invention to provida'etentv which folds during travel into a/ box' which may. becarriedo'nf'i the rear deck of an auto-mobile, andwhich unfoldsy 'in'A such manner that the box becomesfa iloor of the unfoldedfi tent, for the greater comfort of the occupants.

Another object of my invention is toprovideaften't andV a fra-me therefor the unfolding"andffoldingoffwliich'isI a one-man job, so that a person travellingiby himself-can" provide over-night comfort for himself, whilel still pro'l" viding space for two people if there be that many.

A further and important object isto provide at'en't storedin folded condition on the conventional ra'rlu'g.' gage: compartment of an automobile which' can be moved`A from its travellingA position and'lretu'rned thereto, ,soth'at luggage becomes accessible',I withoutY unfolding the tent.rv

Still another object of the invention is to provideja tent floor which reverses when the tent is folded onthe luggage ycompartment and becomes aIv roof protecting the, tent, and which also lhas rails to keep it from theground when in use, which rails become availableufor straps for securing additional luggage or other articles.

A further object is to provide a tent which is supported by'theattached automobile when erected, but which, if it-is then desired to use the automobile, may" be `very simply" and easilydetached and left standing while the automobile is used for other purposes. y Y

In the accompanying drawings, not intended to be limitingvbut offered as examples* of a" preferred einbo'di'v ment of my'inv'ention, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of'm'y-y improved automobile tent folded on the back of an automobile; I i i Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view showing" the tent unfolded and set up ready for occupancy;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectionalview on the line 3-3 of Fig. l, showing the tent folded in its oor box, but moved onto the gro'und as' iii-'diagram' C of Fig. 5 ;H

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view' or' an intermediate scale on the line4-4 of Fig. 2; showing the interior of the erected tent;

Fig. 5 is yav schematic-view showingsuccessive stepsin erecting the tent;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of a support bar attached to the rear bumper of an automobile, for holding the folded tent in elevated position so that it will not scratch the paint;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line 7-7 of Fig. l, showing the separable attachment of the tent to the automobile; and

Fig. 8 is another sectional view on the line 8--8 of Fig. 3, showing the `connection between the box-floor of the tent and one of the supports which keeps the lbox floor above mud and water.

Having reference now to the details of the drawings, my improved tent mounting comprises a box 10 into fastened'whenclosod by `snaphooks=14; At the opposite sidetfrox'n'"the'snapV hooks I14, the box portion 12 has a ofthe'box'portion 12." Correspondingly, the lid '13 has' an elongatedside 17, which, when the lid is closed,` lies rangle" ofbows 'and railsforms a sup-port underV the lid" 13-A to keep th"e-lid`offtheV ground when the lid is swung b'ck'asheretofore described, andwhen the Vlid is closedv on'j'the box portion12 it forms an upstanding grid within` which articlesbf luggage may conveniently be placed and besecured' by "any system of ropes or straps (not shown).

I'he'rbox 10 isintended'to be carried on the luggage compartmentcver or rear dec of'an automobile 23, an'd whenso carried itv must obviously' be easily removable* to aord' access to the luggage compartment and' also must Ibe supported, preferably in a-level position, so asnottoscratch ordent the' automobile. For this latter purpose, a supportl24 is erected at the rear of the automobile, preferably being attached'tothe rear bumper' 25', as on'fpresent day models of automobiles that bum-per'l isconvenientlylocated. The support 24, shown in detailr in FigiY .6, comprisestwo tubular upright members 26,

intowhich'twofother tubular members 27 may be tele-v scopically adjusted and held by thumbscrews 28. The upper ends ofi'the'members 27 are fitted with T-headsr 29,' through which members'30 extend and' are held by thumb-screws 31. The membersv 30 are joined nthe center ofthe supportl24 by atelescopic member 32 which rrlaybeY afxed'toone of the' members 30 by a thumb screw 33.v lIt will be'seen-that the: support 24 can' be` raised orlowered, and that by sliding the telescopic member 32 to one side orfthe'other the members 30 maybe swung outfof valignment, or separated'endwise. It is desirable the support' 24, which mayon `occasion become the onlyipart of my tent mounting attached to the automobile, should be'capable of taking inconspicuous and out-Yof-the-way positions.

Secured to the bottom portion 12 of the box 10, atv both sides thereof, are bows 35, separated laterally sol that they may each extend down one side of the rear deck ofthe automobile and extend downwardly so that' their hat bottom rails 36 will be'at a level (i.e. *groundi level) with the bows 20 of the box lid"13 when the latter' is'opened. Theupperends 37 of the bows 35 are turned inward (Fig. 8) and extend through'iittings 38 secured asby'A Welding toplates- 39 which'may be heldto the box' portion 12 byv sc'r'e-ws- 40.I The f`1ttings38f are provided"l with ythumbscrews 41 so that the bows 35 may be tightened in place or loosened and removed. The bows 35 pass forwardly and rearwardly outside the ends of the support 24.

The forward upper ends 37 of the bows 35 are also provided with swivel fittings 42 which rotate upon the ends 37. From the swivel fittings 42 extend pivot struts 43. The other ends of the pivot struts 43 are secu-red pivotally to the automobile 24, for example to the bumper 25, and permit the whole box 10 to be swung upwardly and rearwardly for unfolding and erecting the tent, or upwardly and forwardly into carrying position on the rear deck of the automobile after the tent has been re-folded. The .pivot struts 43 are so secured to the automobile that Patented May 24, 1960 48 through which the bolt 44 extends, the bar being,

secured on the bolt by a washer 49 and cotter pin 50. Legs 51 are pivotally secured to the bows 35 just below the rearward upper ends 37 of the bows, and are adapted by T-fittings 52 to swing at right angles to the bows.`

They may be held in any desired position by thumbscrews 53.

To hold the box 10 firmly when in carrying position, turn-buckles 55 may be secured to eyebolts 56 inthe box and be hooked by hooks 57 under the fenders or other body parts of the automobile.

The operation of setting up my tent and tent mounting may best be understood from the diagrams of Fig. 5. The box 10 being in place upon the real deck of an automobile, with the turn-buckles 55 removed and the box resting in part on the support 24, the legs 51 are swung rearwardly as shown in Fig. 5A and are secured by the thumbscrews 53. 'I'he box 10 is then pulled up wardly rearwardly, for example by means of the bows 20 or the nearest rail 21, and pivots on the pivot struts 43. The uprights 26 of the support 24 pass between the bows 35. As the box falls rearwardly, it is caught upon the legs 5'1 in a temporary position as shown at 5B. The automobile is then moved forward to permit the bows 35 to make contact with the ground, as shown at 5C and the legs 51, no longer supporting the box 10 are swung forward within the bows 35. The snaphooks 14 being released, the box lid 13 may be lifted and swung rearwardly by means of the bows 20 and finally be placed upon the ground, from which it is supported by the bows 20 at a level below the box portion 12 (Fig. 5D). From the open box portion 12 the tent 11 is then pulled and erected, with extension of the supporting frame as will now be described.

The tent 11 is provided with telescoping bows and braces to hold it erect. Preferably these are arranged so that that part of the tent above the box portion 12 gives head-room for a person sitting on the box portion 12, which may contain such articles as air-mattresses or pillows. The part of the tent above the reversed lid 13 gives standing room to a person. Two corner posts 60 swing upward and are held by braces 61. An extension bow 62 lits telescopically in the posts 60 and may be Y secured by thumbscrews 63. The bow 62 is sewed into Cil a double layer 64 of the tent, and when erected to thc 4 limit of length of the canvas it provides headroom immediately under it. Two more sets of posts 65 and 66 swing upward from the forward corners of the box portion 12, with respective telescopically arranged bows 67 and 68 also sewn in the canvas at 69 and 70 and held by thumbscrews 71 and 72. When both the bows 67 and 68 are extended to the limit permitted by the canvas, and are secured, the tent is erect.

If now the occupant desires to go somewhere in his automobile, he does not have to refold the tent. tent will be connected to the automobile only by the pivot struts 43, which may be easily disconnected from the The bumper 25 by removing the nut 45. The tent remains standing.

-It is believed that the reverse process of packing the tent and returning the box 10 to its position on the auto will be obvious.

If it is desired to obtain access to the luggage compartment, steps A, B, and C of Fig. 5, or possibly only steps A and B, are sulcient.

Numerous modifications which may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the appended claims may be made by those skilled in the art, and the foregoing description is to be considered as an example and not an inexible limitation of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a tent mounting for attachment to an automobile, a box having a bottom portion and a lid, said bottom -portion having a side extending below the normal bottom of said bottom portion, said lid having a side coextensive with said extended side of said bottom portion and hinged thereto at the bottom thereof so that said lid may lie open in a plane below the plane of said bottom portion when swung back therefrom, said lid and said bottom portion having external bows adapted to support said lid and said bottom portion in said two planes above the ground the bows on said bottom portion extending in forward-rearward directions whereby said box may be rocked upon them; pivot struts pivotally connected to said tent mounting adjacent the forward end thereof and at opposite sides thereof and to said automobile and extending upwardly and forwardly from the points of connection to said automobile to the points of connection to said tent mounting so that said tent mounting is swung upwardly in order to be swung rearwardly; support means for maintaining said box in a forwardly swung position upon said automobile; and legs for supporting said box in a temporary position between said last named position and a position in which said bows rest upon the ground.

2. In a tent mounting for attachment to an automobile: a box, for holding a folded tent; adapted to be carried on the rear deck of an automobile, and having a rearward side extending below the bottom of said box; a support extending upward from said automobile and adapted to engage the bottom of said box forwardly of said rearward side; and pivot struts extending upwardly from positions at the sides of said automobile and engaging said box pivotally adjacent the forward end of said box, said struts inclining forwardly when said box is in travelling position on said automobile, the arcs through which said struts pivot lying beyond the ends of said support.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,185,981 Campbell lune 6, 1916 1,527,016 Senior Feb. 17, 1925 2,210,540I Nielson Aug. 6, 1940 2,459,026 Hardy Jan. l1, 1949 2,521,815 Will Sept. l2, 1950 2,642,587 Taylor June 23, 1953 

